As an internet shutdown leaves Iranians yearning for news on the protests sweeping their country, analysts say fake AI-generated videos have begun to fill the void.
The imagined scenes shared on social media include a woman smashing the window of a police car and protesters putting up street signs in support of US President Donald Trump.
Fake 'footage' also purported to show vast pro-regime rallies in Iranian cities. The website NewsGuard, which rates the reliability of online content, said people were "turning to AI video generators to advance their own narratives".
It said it had identified seven AI-generated videos that purported to show the Iranian protests, some supporting them and others backing the government. They have been viewed at least 3.5 million times.
AI video software has become more widely accessible in recent months, with tools such as Open AI's Sora 2 producing close-to-realistic video from a few lines of text.
One of the fake clips shows a woman smashing a vehicle belonging to Iran's paramilitary Basij force. Unrealistic elements include shards of glass appearing from nowhere and a person sitting unmoved inside the van.
Another fake video on TikTok shows a sign for "Trump Street" being hoisted by Iranian protesters. It does acknowledge being AI-generated in small lettering.
While Iran International has reported one genuine case of such a stunt, NewsGuard said users "have been posting AI-generated videos to make such actions appear to be a widespread, nationwide phenomenon".
Some human rights groups say thousands of people have been killed in the Iran protests. The unrest has raised hopes among opposition figures of bringing an end to 47 years of clerical rule, although Iran's leaders have weathered uprisings before.
Mr Trump has threatened to intervene in support of protesters but hinted the situation was calming on Wednesday by saying planned executions by Iran "won't take place".
When asked if this meant military action was off the table, Mr Trump said: “We're going to watch and see what the process is.”
